Just when Verizon and AT&T thought the heated price wars were cooling off, T-Mobile launches a couple of new weapons from its artillery in an effort to woo customers away from the two biggest wireless carriers in the U.S.
In his usual outspoken manner, T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced during the company's Un-carrier 9.0 event two new programs that he hopes will lure customers away from Verizon and AT&T.
The first one, called Un-contract, brings contracts back to T-Mobile. However, instead of guaranteeing T-Mobile's profits for the duration of the contract, the Un-contract guarantees to customers that T-Mobile will never raise the price of their plans for what T-Mobile says is a "minimum of two years."
Starting March 22, all customers on T-Mobile's Simple Choice plans, including individual and shared plans, will be automatically covered by Un-contract. If they wish to switch to another T-Mobile plan, the Un-contract will continue to apply no matter which Simple Choice plan customers choose.
This even includes customers who signed up for promotional plans, such as the popular $100 shared plan for four lines with up to 10 GB each of 4G LTE per month. Without the Un-contract, the 2.5 GB allotment for each of the four lines on the $100 plan would revert back to 1 GB after the plan's first year. However, this will no longer be the case when the Un-contract rolls out.
"The other guys have been throwing out all kinds of desperate, short-term promotions to suck you in and lock you down - only to jack up rates later. We're not playing that game," says Legere in a statement. "The Un-contract is our promise to individuals, families, and businesses of all sizes that - while your price may go down - it won't go up."
In addition, T-Mobile is building upon its offer to pay early termination fees for customers who are unsatisfied with their carriers by offering Carrier Freedom, which promises to pay for the remaining cost of a device purchased from Verizon or AT&T for as much as $650 per device.
Carrier Freedom was announced in response to Verizon and AT&T's move to get rid of early termination fees and instead allow customers to pay for their smartphones or tablets in monthly installments via Verizon's Edge and AT&T's Next programs, effectively still locking customers into a two-year contract with the carriers. T-Mobile says Carrier Freedom also pays for the lease.
To take advantage of Carrier Freedom, customers will still need to purchase a device from T-Mobile and get a trade-in value for their old device right away. They will also receive a prepaid card worth their outstanding balance for their device payments worth up to $650 per line and for up to 10 lines.
Photo: Mike Mozart | Flickr
